NY approves charter school for Newburgh

NEWBURGH — The mid-Hudson's first charter school was officially approved by the state Board of Regents on Tuesday.

Pauline Liu

NEWBURGH — The mid-Hudson's first charter school was officially approved by the state Board of Regents on Tuesday.

As expected, the Newburgh Preparatory Charter High School sailed through the process, since it won the approval of the State Education Department's Charter School Office as well as Commissioner John King weeks earlier. The school will be unique to the region in more ways than one, since it's all about offering second chances. It will be specifically geared to serve high school dropouts in the greater Newburgh area between the ages of 16-21.

"This is no ordinary charter school," said Executive Director Tom Fitzgerald, a former teacher and assistant superintendent in Newburgh. "This school is specifically about improving Newburgh."

No one, from state education officials to the applicants themselves, seems to know exactly why it's taken so long for the region to establish a charter school. State legislation passed in 1998 cleared the way for their existence.

Until now, numerous attempts to start charter schools in the mid-Hudson have ended in false starts, while the independently run, alternative public schools have multiplied rapidly in New York City and Buffalo.

As part of a mandate under the federal Race to the Top competition, the state in 2010 raised the cap on the number of permissible charter schools from 200 to 460 in the belief that they are more "academically competitive." The charters — or contracts with the state — are renewable every five years.

Fitzgerald as well as members of Newburgh Prep's nine-member board of trustees say they now have to hit the ground running with the goals of finding a school building and enrolling 105 students.

The school is scheduled to open its doors July 1 for teacher training. Orientation and other get-acquainted activities for students are set to begin Aug. 26. As with many charter schools, the hours at Newburgh Prep will be longer than other public schools. Classes will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., while the school building will remain open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Among the program features are daily advisory periods for each student, social-emotional support and community service projects.

By the 2017-2018 school year, the trustees hope to expand enrollment to more than 300 students.

Administrators for the Newburgh School District, which will have to provide the initial funding for the school, were not available for comment. The state says it will cost the district $1.7 million to fund the school for the first year.

In addition to recruiting students, the school's founders said they will begin the process of applying for federal and state grants to make sure the school is viable.

"We've worked very hard to get to this point, but now the real work begins," said Fitzgerald. "We're doing something that is positive."